


Troubled Souls

by Emeraldfaun



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Camp Nanowrimo, Camp Nanowrimo 2017, Drugs, F/F, Goddesses, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Past Child Abuse, Trans Junkrat | Jamison Fawkes, Witchcraft, i guesssss, idk man
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-15 00:07:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10546670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emeraldfaun/pseuds/Emeraldfaun
Summary: Flora Lunares, a witch from Dorado, heads to Junkertown in search of a magical artifact from the Australian omnium core. He finds Junkrat, who has it but sure isn't giving it up without a fight. With a strange twist of chance and maybe even fate, Flora ends up forced to work with Junkrat and it turns out to be more healing than either one imagined - in many ways. But things get sticky as ghosts from the past come back to haunt them and their relationship will be tested.





	1. Junkrat

Junkertown laid quietly tonight across the sandy hills. The night was pitch black and  a gentle breeze tousled through but it sure didn’t feel like it. The temperature was sweltering. But it wasn’t anything new for Flora Lunares, despite being a newcomer. Though he was apparently something absolutely new; as Flora made his way through town, the Junkers were sure to move out of his way and keep a wary eye on him. It was clear no one wanted to talk to him, rather, they wanted to talk _about_ him.

“Where you think he’s from?”

“He’s probably just another aboriginal.”

“With red hair like that?”

“Must be a result of another one of them spirits...”

That caught Flora’s attention. He stopped walking and turned gently towards them. “I’m sorry but, ‘another one of those spirits,’ you say?”

They looked at him and one spat a reply, “We ain’t fuckin’ talkin’ to you.” When Flora didn’t budge, they burst out laughing. And then when he gave his own good laugh as well, their laughter died down. “What the fuck do you still want?”

Flora kept a calm smile on his face. “I’m looking for someone. Jamison Fawkes. Over six feet tall. Blond. Sharp features.”

The other one piped up. “And why might you be lookin’ for Junkrat?”

Flora parroted right back at them, “And why might you be so concerned for Junkrat?”

The first Junker growled. “He’s one of ours, no matter how crazy he went,” He paused before he hissed, “ _Witch_.” The two of them laughed between themselves again.

At that, Flora scoffed. “If only you knew.” He humbled.

Their laughs cut off immediately and they reached for their weapons. “You best get the fuck outta here, whatever you are.”

But Flora was unmoved. “I’m not leaving without seeing him.” He had his rifle on his back and his knife on his forearm and he knew he could take these two out but he just tapped the handle of his knife, waiting. “... Well? What’s it gonna be-?” Then, the one closer to him charged at him with his machete raised. But, in one swift movement, Flora drew his knife, defected the machete with it, and twisted, using the man’s own inertia to trip and force him to the ground. Then, in another motion, he stomped on that man’s throat and drew his rifle on the other. “Come on now, let’s not make this difficult.”

The man under his foot thrashed uselessly, unable to free himself and losing consciousness quickly. The other had his gun pointed at Flora and laughed, “Difficult? It’s the two of us against you! You honestly think-?” Then Flora grounded his foot into his victim even harder. “H-Hey, c’mon now, there’s no reason-!”

“To make things any more difficult for you?” Flora smirked. He took the silence of the two of them as cue to continue. “It’s just a simple question. Where is he?”

The struggling of the man on the ground was dying down so the one holding his gun began to give in. “Alright, I’ll tell you if you wanna know so much, but I don’t think you’re gonna like my answer!”

Flora nodded but didn’t stand down. “Why is that?”

The man then suddenly started fiddling with something behind his back. “He got up and left town, that’s why! Ever since he went searching in the omnium core and found something that made him go crazy, he and a friend of his got the hell out of here!”

Flora loosened the pressure on the man below him a bit. “Any idea where he went?”

“Some say they’ve spotted the both of them on the western outskirts of town in an abandoned shed. Now, I think it’s time for you to leave-!” And with that the the man below him suddenly gripped his leg. As Flora struggled with him, the other tried to shoot him. He barely missed but before he could try again, Flora dug his heel into the other one’s shirt, pulled him up onto his feet, and threw him as the one with the gun. He tried to shoot Flora but accidentally got his friend and was tackled by him. As he struggled to get the man off of him, a barrel appeared in his face with Flora on the other end. He noticed letters painted in green on the gun that read “Los Muertos” and a shiver ran down his spine. “Please, don’t-!”

Flora shushed him, “Now now, don’t worry, my goddess will take good care of you.” And with that he pulled the trigger. “Scum.”

* * *

Fortunately, the two of them had motorcycles so Flora immediately took one of them and headed west. He did not want to stick around for when the other Junkers found the bodies of their friends. As the moon shined bright on the open road, Flora chanted to himself, “Blessed be, Tiella, blessed be your might, and bless me as well with your courage as I fulfill your will.” He didn’t know why he was repeating his prayer. It wasn’t because this Junkrat was an actual threat, right? He was sure it would be easy, just take the coin, plain and simple. So there was nothing to worry about… right? Nevertheless, it comforted him as he made his way.

It took half an hour but he found the shed. It was quite literally a shed; it was small and really beaten up. As he parked the motorcycle a good distance from it and began approaching it, he noticed footprints leading to the shed. There were two different sets; one of them was huge and walking in straight paths while the other dawdled scraggly. And the smaller one was missing a foot. _Makes sense; Avaris was always one for sacrifices_ , he thought to himself. He prayed to Tiella one last time before he put full focus on the shed. He really had some thinking to do because there were two ways this could go down; Flora could just talk to Junkrat and Junkrat could hand the coin over or Flora will have to simply just murder Junkrat. He honestly didn't like either option, but he had a feeling the friend those Junkers mentioned would be bound to have a vengeance if Flora killed Junkrat, so he rehearsed what he was going to say.

As Flora thought about this, he froze when he heard a voice ring out. "Wait right there!" Well, at least it wasn't a 'stop' or 'don't fucking come one step closer.' Then, a man stepped out of the shed. From the description Flora had previously gotten, he was pretty sure it was Junkrat. And surely enough around his neck was a cord with an opalescent coin on the end.

Junkrat had caught him off guard so Flora knew he had to be careful. “Jamison Fawkes, I presume?”

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out!” Junkrat was rather cheerful. He really had no idea what he was in for, did he? “And you might be?”

“Flora Lunares.” Flora remained confident.

Junkrat came closer and put out a hand. “Nice to meet you, Flora!” Flora accepted and Junkrat shook vigorously. “What brings you out here-?” And then, he noticed the charm strung from Flora’s neck; it was a large fang except it looked to be made of opal. He laughed nervously, his hand shaking slowing down. “Y-you’re not from around here, are you?”

Flora laughed darkly and Junkrat released his hand. “I am a priest of Tiella and I have come for the coin of Avaris.” He pointed to the string around Junkrat’s neck.

The Junker instinctively grabbed it and stepped back. “This? You want this? Well you can’t have it!” He started to go back inside the shed.

“I’m not done with you.” Was Flora’s simple response as he traced a finger in the air and shadows from the crack of the door tied themselves around the door handle, locking Junkrat out.

Junkrat paused, blinked in disbelief, sighed, and turned to face him. “Alright then, fine. I’ll give you the coin.” He began to approach Flora, moving his hands to remove his necklace. Then, as Flora was reaching out to receive it, Junkrat’s hand lit on fire and he tried to take a swing at Flora. Thankfully, the punch was not as well coordinated as Flora was and he managed to deflect the fire with a glowing green energy of his own. But Junkrat was not discouraged. “Hehehehe! You think I’m giving this up that easily? What are you, stupid?!” He covered both his hands in flames and charged at Flora. Flora stood his ground and crouched at the last moment, tripping him.

Flora scoffed at the ease it took to topple him. “What a childish display. Did she teach you nothing-?”

At that Junkrat screamed and took a cheap shot by kneeing him in the crotch. Flora fell immediately. “Ha! Who’s the child now?!” Jamie mocked. Flora couldn’t seem to get back up so he slammed the hand he wasn’t using to alleviate the bruising on his crotch to the ground and got Jamie’s shadow to wrap around him and pull him to the ground. Once Flora had him restrained, he wasted no time and grabbed the necklace off him. “Hey!” Jamie shouted but it was too late; Flora was already making his way to the motorcycle.

Eventually however, the shadows loosened their grip and Jamie was able get back up. But he didn’t run after Flora; instead he headed back inside the shed and grabbed a round disk and threw it on the ground near Flora. Flora saw it but he didn’t have a second to wonder what it was because the next thing he knew he heard a car beep and he was propelled into the air. He felt himself crash against a boulder and that was the last thing that happened before it all went black.


	2. New Roommates

When Flora woke up, he was in a rather small, empty room. The sunlight coming in pained his eyes and the stains on the dingy walls creeped him out.

He then noticed that he was laying on the floor but before he could even think about getting up, a voice sneered. “Oh, well, look who’s woken up?” He looked up and saw Junkrat sitting on a dirty mattress.

Flora just blinked at him. “... Junkrat? Wha-?”

“Wow, didn’t think you’d be able to get up after all that, let alone talk.” Junkrat remarked.

Flora was very confused until he recalled what happened the night before. “Uh… heh heh.” Flora laughed sheepishly. “Y-you’re right, who would have thought, considering what happened last night…” He then thought to probably make up some sort of excuse and apologize, being as he wanted to get out of this alive. “And speaking of last night-!” Now a little more awake, Flora began to feel sharp pain in his back, especially his spine. He gritted his teeth, refusing to release a groan.

“Shh, shh, relax now. ” Jamie put a hand on Flora’s shoulder. “You’re safe…” Then his grip tightened. “And it’s time for you to talk before that thing fully kicks in.” He then laughed maniacally to himself. “I wonder if it’ll blow up! I really hope it does!” He rambled dreamily.

Now realizing that he was obviously on Junkrat’s bad side, Flora was filled with dread. But he still had hope; he had been through many situations in the past where he thought he’d die or worse, so he knew he’d pull through with the help of himself, the goddess, and fate.

Then, he picked up on what the Junker said. “Hey, wait… Until ‘that thing kicks in?’ What thing?” He tried to sit up… and oddly enough, he could. His back wasn’t broken? But it sure felt like it… He touched his back and felt some sort of smooth growths. He panicked and tried to look but it caused too much pain and he slumped back onto his elbows. Oddly enough, the only pain he felt was not via the growths. Maybe he could get Junkrat to take a look… if the Junker would stop going on about blowing something up. “Hey! I’m sorry to take you away from your… orgasmic fantasy,” Flora thought to add a little crudity onto his statement, considering how Junkrat was treating him. “But I think that ‘thing’ you mentioned is kicking in.”

Seeing Flora sit up admittedly shocked Junkrat but he just couldn’t stop his mad laughing. “I wanna say I’m sorry, mate, but I’m not-!” Then, suddenly, he roughly grabbed Flora’s left arm. “What the hell are those?” He observed the small green bumps beginning to protrude from Flora’s forearm. Was _this_ what that odd injection had done? Junkrat hoped this wouldn’t be just it. A rough, sooty finger explored the growths and Flora shivered at the sensation… no, the closeness. Yeah, it was definitely the closeness of another witch, especially one who was new and couldn’t control his powers, nothing else. The bumps felt velvety and plant-like. But Jamie didn’t want that - plants were boring! Though he supposed it wouldn’t be so bad to watch him be destroyed from the inside, greenery pushing and pushing until he finally burst… but still… “When’s it gonna’ explode?!” Junkrat impatiently jumped on the matress. “You feeling explodey at all? You know, rumbling, burning… anything?” At this point Junkrat just wanted to see something blown up.

Flora was just confused at this. Explode? Did Junkrat put some sort of ticking time bomb inside of Flora? Flora panicked a bit at the green on his arm, but when he felt it himself, his fears of gangrene or worse were quelled. Then, upon pressing a little harder, he felt a little pain in her forearm bones. But the texture of the green growths seemed to continue to the bone… So this is what Junkrat did to his body? Was the man a mad scientist as well as just mad in general?

He turned to Junkrat. “I don’t know what these are but I have a feeling I won’t be exploding any time soon.” He then hesitated but decided to ask. “What exactly did you do to me, by the way?”

Junkrat released Flora (to which Flora was highly thankful for) and just nonchalantly shrugged. “Oh, me and Roaddie just had this old experimental medical device, or FLRA as Roaddie found out it’s called, that grew venus flytraps from this armored car we hijacked once and didn’t know what to do with it and I thought that since you were such a son of a bitch to try to take this,” He flicked the opal coin hanging around his neck, “That I’d kill you with it.”

Flora's eyes widened. How much damage did his body take? And he didn't just die? He had so many questions... and most of all, "How come you two didn't just kill me when the... FLRA thing saved my life?"

Junkrat leaned back, lackadaisical. "Well, you see, your body fought so hard to live and work with the FLRA that I thought it would be extremely cruel just to kill you off after all that. Besides,” Then, his voice darkened. “I have some damn questions to ask you.” He looked Flora straight in the eye and started, “Now, tell me - and you better tell me honestly or else you’re really in for it - why do you want my coin so much?”

He glared cruelly at Flora and while Flora wasn’t about to back down, he did want to live another day so he decided to put his pride aside and simply responded, with a sigh, “I’m pretty sure you know this but the coin contains A, a goddess of chaos, and I needed to find it before she-.”

“Was released? Oh, sorry, mate, but you’re a little late for that.” Junkrat sneered with a chuckle.

Flora blinked in disbelief. “... You did WHAT?”

“Now calm down, flower boy.” Junkrat paused to laugh at his own nickname for Flora and Flora rolled his eye.

Speaking of which… “... Hey, where’s my eyepatch?”

“Oh, you mean this?” Junkrat dangled it in front of Flora’s face and Flora tried to grab it but Junkrat pulled it away at the last second. “Ah ah ah! First, I wanna  know why you’re missing an eye.”

“Well why are you missing a leg?” Flora parroted.

“... Point taken.” Junkrat handed over the eye patch. Flora just smirked as he put it on. Much better. “But yeah, Avaris… when I found the coin in the remains of the omnium core, I accidentally released her and she kinda just… went off on her own business. But first she left me with some strange curse...”

Flora surely didn’t feel sorry for this guy, but his curiosity still piqued. “Curse?” He would ask more about the whereabouts of Avaris later.

“Yeah, she said she was ‘blessing’ me or something and gave me these… powers. Like, I’m practically immune to fire and other strange things happen around me every once in awhile now.” His voice quieted towards the end of his sentence. He seemed to be hiding something...

“And I take it that you don’t like what she did to you?” Flora twisted his voice to sound empathetic but he couldn’t have cared less what Avaris did to him. He just wanted to know where she was.

Thankfully, Junkrat fell for it as he crossed his arms over his head and sighed, “Yeah, been nothing but a nuisance for me!”

Flora found his strength and pulled himself in a seated position. “I really wish I could help with that but, y’know, I’ve got somewhere to be-.”

“Help? Yeah, you could help!” Junkrat interrupted unceremoniously. “I mean, you are a seasoned witch after all… Hey, Roaddie!” He called past the open door. “You better head into town today! We got another mouth to feed!"

"Another mouth...?” Did this mean Flora couldn’t just slip away? “Why aren't you throwing me out?"

Junkrat laughed louder this time, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Mate, look at me!" When Flora didn't get what he was saying, he tapped the floor with his right leg. "I also had part of me replaced. Admittedly, your replacement is a little more drastic, but if you stick around, I could be your uh... physical therapist of some sort! And in exchange, you could help me master my powers!"

Flora was about to protest when he tried to lean on the arm with the plant growth and painfully failed. Junkrat went to catch him but Flora pushed him back and caught himself. Once he balanced again, he huffed.

It seemed that he had no choice.

“... Very well then.” He thought to himself about how and when he could possibly plan an escape.

But to Junkrat, it looked like sulking. “Aw, c’mon, mate, no need for the depression! Say, I’m not really one for suit-like behavior but let’s start with formal introductions!” He excitedly stuck out a hand. “You can call me Jamie and-OOOH! ROADDIE! ROADDIE, GET IN HERE A SEC!”

“You don’t need to shout.” A grunting voice approached the doorway. “This place isn’t very big.” Then, a tall, portly man wearing a gas mask appeared.

“Flora, this is Roadhog! Roadhog, Flora!” Jamie cheekily grinned.

Flora waved his unafflicted hand and smiled. “Hello, sir.” But Roadhog just stood there for a few seconds, huffed, and then left.

Jamie still smiled as he left. “Oh don’t worry about him, mate! He’s just not really a talkative type until you get to know him better.” Then he mused, “Although he really doesn’t seem to talk to me outside of necessary conversation… hmmmmm...”

“Well, thank you for the pleasant introductions,” Flora lied and made movement to get up, “But I think I’ll head to my room now-.”

“‘Your room?’ You mean, ‘our room?’”

Flora just blinked at him. “... What?”

Jamie laughed a little more obnoxiously than he should have. Flora didn’t know why but he found himself entertained by it. “We only got two mattresses, mate, and Roadhog already takes up an entire mattress all by himself.”

Flora got the meaning of that after a few seconds, probably because he didn’t really want to. “... Oh.” He tried not to replay the sensation of Jamie’s gentle touch again.

It didn’t help when the Junker suddenly tackled him and pulled him onto the mattress. Damn, he was strong… and well built… and Flora really wanted to stop thinking about all of this but Jamie didn’t want to let go, snuggling into his captive. “... Um, what are you doing?”

Jamie on the other hand seemed to be truly innocently enjoying this. “Just giving you a warm welcome, new roommate!” Flora tried to adjust himself so he was comfortable against Jamie’s warm chest. He sighed, wishing that Jamie would stop giving him a warm welcome somewhere else too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jfc Flora, the man tries to kill you, and you fucking come onto him. PRIORITIES, MAN!!!


	3. Before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I changed some minor details like names and stuff. Feel free to head back to chapters one and two and check.

The sun was at its highest point in the sky and it was hot as hell but Flora sat in the direct sunlight through it.

“Uh, mate, you sure it’s not too hot for you?” Jamie called to Flora from inside the shack. It didn’t have A/C but it at least had shade.

“I am perfectly fine.” Flora calmly responded, despite sweating heavily. “Besides, this is how I have to get this done.”

“And what are you doing again?”

“Weren’t you not paying attention?” Flora huffed before he remembered. “Actually, don’t answer that.” He waved the Junker off as he flipped through the pages of a thick book. Jamie took it as his cue to leave Flora alone. He decided to just go back inside and look at some work in progress blueprints of his. Flora was thankful for this for it allowed him some time to finally remember the blessing he wanted to accomplish. He couldn’t be blamed; it had been awhile since he had done something like this and this was the first time he was going to be teaching someone the craft. He would never admit it but he was actually anxious about this. Being as he was stuck with Jamie he had to keep the teacher act up until he fully healed and could slip out and continue to pursue Avaris. Also, Flora got the impression from Roadhog that the big man wouldn’t hesitate to crush his skull if there was any funny business.

A light breeze rolled through and Flora felt the weight of the book in his lap. Right, back to business.

With a little more flipping through the book, he thought about what kind of blessing he would do. Once he got it, he placed the book at his feet and grabbed a knife from his forearm pouch but this time, it wasn’t the combat knife; it was a dull knife with an ornate black handle and a raised white pentagram on the end of it.

He then made slow motions in the air with his free hand before quickly ducking and spinning to make a circle with the knife around him in the dirt in one fell swoop. The air around Flora stood still and chilled but he did not hesitate; he pointed the blunt knife to book on the ground and called out, “Goddess, bless this tome that my mother has bestowed upon me and give it new life as my teaching object. May my lessons be rich and Jamie’s education of the craft be plenty.” He breathed deeply, channeling his intent into the book. Once he felt it was enough, his breathing began to return to normal and he made more calm gestures with his free hand.

And just in time. “You called-? WHOA!” Jamie looked up at the sky in shocked awe at the rain cloud growing several feet wide over Flora.

But Flora just calmly picked the book off the ground and headed inside. “Heh heh.” He lifted Jamie’s jaw for him as he passed him in the doorway.

Jamie kept staring at the random clump of rainclouds for a little longer before finally getting a hold of himself and chasing after Flora, who had plopped himself on their mattress. He looked tired but content. But Jamie wasn’t about to give him a break. “What the hell was that?!”

“I suppose an explanation is warranted.” Flora completely ignored his look of “it’s absolutely fucking warranted” and continued. “I was blessing my mother’s book of shadows-.”

“Book of shadows?” Jamie shivered a bit at the foreboding name. What exactly had he welcomed into his home?

But Flora dismissed his fears with a calm tone, “There are many definitions of a book of shadows,” To this, he could feel Jamie slouch in boredom but he continued. “But basically, a book of shadows is a witch’s record of her magical practices, whether it be spells, blessings, cleansings… and, yeah.” Flora knew he was leaving something out but he didn’t want to discuss it.

But Jamie caught onto him. “And?” Jamie tossed the list in his head again, trying to fill in the blank. “... Can you witches curse, Flora?”

Flora sighed, really not wanting to get into it. “Honestly, that discussion is an ongoing debate in the community, for reasons we will not discuss now.”

Jamie shrugged, able to tell that he shouldn’t push this. “Alright, mate, fine.”

Flora’s relaxed expression disappeared when he realized, “Wait, what do you mean you witches?’” He made sure Jamie was looking at him when he said this. “You’re a witch too y’know.”

This time Jamie visibly shivered. “N-n-no! I’m not!”

Flora just blinked. “Do you honestly think this has nothing to do with you?” He then hesitated before continuing. “Jamie, if you’re not going to take this seriously-.”

“I am taking this seriously!” Jamie stamped his foot. “I just…! I just didn’t think it meant I’d have to get so involved...” He suddenly punched the air. “Goddammit, I’m already in so deep, I FUCKING HATE THIS!”

Flora thought about it before responding. “I don’t think we’re on the same page here.” Jamie looked at him with a blank slate so Flora decided to begin trying to clearing up the confusion. “You ARE a witch, Jamie, but I don’t think you necessarily understand what that means.” Silence. “In your case it means that you have the ability to wield powerful magic - even though you haven’t exactly honed your study - but it’s not as involved as you think it is.” Further silence gave Flora permission to continue. “I assume that you no longer have connections with Avaris?”

Jamie suddenly looked distressed. “Damn right I don’t, fucking bitch! I’ll strangle her next time I see her...”

Flora sighed, chuckling a bit. “Do you Junkers honestly always react that way to much more powerful figures?”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Flora drew himself away from the memory, then he realized he was just doing it out of habit. Jamie couldn’t possibly be skilled in psychometry or any type of magic for that matter. Boy, did Flora have his work cut out for him. “But yeah, don’t think that just because you don’t believe in the gods and goddesses that you’re excluded from the craft.” He thought for a second before adding. “You’ve got a lot to learn, Jamie. I mean it.”

Just when Flora thought Jamie was going to explode into another fit, he surprised him; he calmly settled down on the mattress beside him. “Which is why I have some questions.” He sighed and hesitated. “So… I’m a witch?” Flora nodded encouragingly. “Well… does that mean I have to do bloody sacrifices and-?”

“I’m gonna stop you right there.” The words were curt but Flora’s tone was not. “No, that is absolutely NOT what that means. I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of a horrible things about witches and I can guarantee you most of them are accounts from hundreds of years ago, when slavery and spousal abuse were accepted as well and the rest of them are flat out lies.” Jamie nodded timidly. Flora noticed this and laughed to ease the tension. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to chide you, I’ve just heard that so many times that I’ve had it up to here,” He gestured to his eyepatch. “In it.”

“Oh… okay.” Still, Jamie thought carefully before asking his next question. “Well, I also wanted to know…  How long have you been a witch? Like, how did you start?”

Flora chuckled lightly. “I am what is known as a blood witch; my mother is a witch and so was her mother.” He smiled at the warm memories.

Jamie was not usually good at sympathy but Flora wasn’t really hiding his emotions. “So I’m guessing your memories of being a witch were all good?”

Flora slowly became crestfallen. “Well, not all. In joy there will always be sorrow, but yes, for the most part, it was and is good.”

Jamie folded his arms and fell backwards onto the mattress. “Well it’s good that at least one of us is enjoying this whole witch ordeal.”

Flora started to remind him. “You know, if you keep referring to your craft like that-.”

“I know! I know! If I keep referring to my craft like this, I’ll never get anywhere! I KNOW!” Jamie exasperated himself.

But Flora remained calm, looking back at the Junker just aimlessly staring at the ceiling. “... Well what _I_ was going to say was that the opposing intent of depersonalizing your craft while trying to hone your craft will negate itself… so basically _that_ but nicer...” Then a question crossed his mind. “Why do you hate being a witch so much, Jamie?”

With a hand over his face, Jamie replied painfully, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Flora turned to fully face him and leaned over him, playing sympathy. “It’ll make you feel better-.”

“Yeah, gee, no thanks, doc.” Jamie put both hands on his face, more than a little pissed. “I don’t want to think about all the wacked up shit that’s been fucking happening ever since that goddamn bitch came into my life and turned everything upside down.”

Flora knew he shouldn’t pry and decided to take the conversation elsewhere. “Say, where’s Roadhog?”

“Oh, him? I sent him to town to scrounge up some more food supplies, y’know, since you’re here now.” Jamie rested his hands on his chest now.

Flora was doubly thankful that Jamie cooled down a bit and took the bait as well. “What is your relationship like with Roadhog?” And then, before Jamie could ask questions, “You two seem to have something.”

Jamie laughed a bit at that. “Oh yeah, Roaddie and I go way back. It’s actually quite a funny story...”

“Funny?” Flora laid on his stomach and rested his chin on his hand, playing coy.

“Well actually… it’s not that funny… more traumatic...” He laughed uncomfortably but Flora just waited for him to continue. “... Alright, well, you see, we met sometime after the explosion of the omnium core.” Flora nodded. He knew what he was talking about, hell, the artifact found in core was the whole reason he was here. “It was a mess. Every town was a scrap heap, people were dropping like flies, the whole hooley dooley.” Then, Flora noticed the vibrations from his peg leg tapping on the floor.

“Yeah well… what was it like before?” He distracted him, not wanting another outburst.

The vibrations were slowly silenced. “... Wasn’t a whole lot of fun before either... but I must admit it was better. I lived in… basically a camp set up for displaced people for when the omnics came and took our homes.” He gazed around the room, thinking deeply about something, then asked, “What was it like before you left home, Flora?”

“What?”

“Your rifle, it says ‘Los Muertos.’ Ain’t that some hot shot gang over in the Americas?”

Flora thought about whether or not he really wanted to talk about his personal life with Jamie but just concluded the thought with a shrug. “Yeah, it is, specifically Mexico.”

Jamie perked up a bit. “So you were like, a gang member?”

“Yes and no. Yes, I was part of Los Muertos but no, I did not necessarily do gang related things. My mother and I were doctors for them and our home a safehouse for the gang.”

Jamie pondered a bit before asking, “And how did that happen?”

Flora sighed. He had a feeling he’d have to explain this and he really didn’t want to. So he eased into it, “They provided us safety so we provided them medical care.”

“Safety from what?”

Flora huffed. The man really wasn’t going to let it go. “My father.” He started and really wished it would end there.

Jamie boldly (thought mostly ignorantly) pressed forward. “What did he do?”

“Let’s just say this,” Flora pointed to his eyepatch, “Was a gift from him.” He laughed morbidly. “Fortunately, one day Los Muertos intervened and told him to beat it. It seems to have worked; we haven’t seen him since.”

Jamie reeled back and formed a silent “oh” with his lips. “… Wow, that sucks.”

Flora shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, it’s alright. After he left things were much better.”

Jamie thought a little longer before responding, “… I can’t possibly imagine my childhood without my dad being there for me. That really sucks, Flora…”

“Don’t get me wrong, my childhood was still great with my mother. She’s an amazing woman and I wouldn’t have become the man I am today without her.” He smiled at his layering of the sentence but kept it to himself.

“That’s good.” Was all that Jamie said. The two then just sat in a nice, complacent silence.

A few minutes later, Roadhog’s voice called from the front door. “Hey Junkrat, I’ve got food.”

Jamie sprung up from the mattress excitedly. “Oh boy, already, hog?! Excellent! We can get started on dinner right away!”

As Jamie ran into the other room, Flora just watched him disappear and sighed, slumping into the mattress. He could get used to this.


	4. Vices

Eventually Flora got up and approached the main room that Jamie and Roadhog were conversing in, but came to a halt when he heard Roadhog whisper, “Junkrat, we have to talk. It’s about Flora.”

Junkrat jovially responded, “Sure mate, what do you wanna-?”

“Shhh, not so loud!” Roadhog hushed him. “I think we’re gonna have a problem if he’s going to stay with us.”

“That being?”

Flora leaned in to listen, remaining hidden.

“I just got back from town and there have been reports of a man with a similar description having killed Aaron and Jake.”

“Oh really? Those two? Well, they had it coming! Ha!”

“This is serious, Junkrat! If Flora’s the same man and they find out he’s staying with us, there could be some serious issues!”

“So what? Flora killed some Junkers. It’s not like they’re not killing each other every day!” He chuckled. “Besides, Flora is staying.”

“And why is that?”

“Because he’s my magic teacher!”

Roadhog sighed. “You really believe he’ll be able to teach you to control whatever that coin did to you?”

“Of course, Roaddie! If I didn’t then I wouldn’t let him stay!”

“Oh really? How can you be so sure?”

Flora shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t know why, but he really wanted to stay - maybe because he truly wanted to teach Jamie, maybe for other reasons - and really hoped that Jamie would vouch for him.

“Because if I don’t get these powers under control, it’ll be the end of me. And you know it too.”

The end of him? Jamie would _die_ ? Flora had heard of uncontrolled magic maddening the wielder but _killing_ him? What exactly did Avaris do to him?

“Very well then, Junkrat, but if an angry mob comes to our door, it’s YOUR fault.”

Then Flora heard Roadhog walk to his room and he decided to make himself apparent. “Hey Jamie.” He stepped into the doorway.

“Oh, hey, Flora!” Jamie greeted him but he seemed more dull now.

Flora looked to the ground and saw a cloth sack. “I assume that’s dinner?”

“Well, what makes up dinner, that is!” Jamie tried to brighten but fell flat.

And Flora finally felt it was time to address it. “Jamie, I couldn’t help but overhear that you think your magic will kill you.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go as far to put it that way, mate!” Jamie tried to put Flora at ease, but it seemed more like he was trying to put _himself_ at ease by saying that.

“Still, you seem very concerned...” Then it crossed Flora’s mind. “... I’ve got to ask. If you are really this distressed by your magic, then why do you keep the coin?”

Jamie subconsciously started touching the coin. “I must admit, it’s not something I’m proud of. But I need it.”

“Why?”

Jamie refused to look him in the eye, probably from shame. “Well, ever since I picked it up and that goddess granted me powers, I’ve been feeling… sick. Even sicker than before.” He hesitated before continuing. “When I’m away from the coin, I feel like I’m lacking a part of me, a part of me that I somewhat always knew was there but never realized how strongly it was there.”

Flora leaned in. “What part of you?”

Jamie paused for a while then gulped. “The pyromaniac in me.” He laughed nervously. “I know, it’s pathetic that I rely on such a vice but I can’t really help it it’s just… it’s just-.”

“An addiction?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. I just… I just need it. It’s part of me.” Jamie rested his chin on his hand then wiped his forehead, fidgeting.

Flora thought for a second before speaking up. “You know, Jamie, not to put words in your mouth or anything but, it’s alright to have your ‘vices’ without letting them control you so much.”

“I know… it’s just so hard because it’s such an integral part of me.” Was Jamie’s worried reply.

“... Yeah, I have to admit, sometimes, it’s just not easy.” Flora thought to reveal himself a little to help. “As you have witnessed, Tiella’s lunar magic gives me magical abilities related to shadows, darkness, and the cold.” Jamie’s expression went from anxiety to curiosity. “Yeah, and, I must admit it can be hard not identify with these vices.”

Jamie flailed his arms. “Yeah, but your powers are cool! Mine just destroy...”

“Do you honestly think being a necromancer is easy?”

Flora’s response was cool but Jamie tensed. “Wh-what?”

Flora laughed darkly. “At its best, my magic is shadowmancy. At its worse, my magic is necromancy, and as you can imagine, it comes with a high price.” Jamie formed an “oh my” with his lips and Flora nodded. “Magic is power, Jamie, and so us witches have to be responsible. Because if we weren’t, literal hell would break loose.”

“Responsibility is hard.” Jamie whined.

Flora smiled warmly. “Yes, but you have time to learn. You are still young.”

“Yeah...” Jamie trailed off before asking, “And how old are you, Flora?”

This took Flora by surprise but he still answered. “I am 28 as of last May 1st.”

“Oh… well I’m 24.” Jamie digested the information for a second. He looked young for 28… and awfully good looking for 28... “... Hey, that means your birthday is in a month! Happy early birthday!”

Flora scoffed. “Heh, thanks.” Then, he rested a hand on one of the sacks. “Now, what was that about dinner?”

* * *

Roadhog had brought home a heap of rice and some greens. He was going to cook but Flora insisted that he made use of himself and got to work on dinner.

The rice was nearing a perfect tenderness when he heard a knock on the window. He looked up and saw a clawed hand scrape a heart into the glass. “Hey, Roadhog!” He called into the other room. “Could you take care of this for a second? I’ll be right back!” Then he headed outside.

When he turned the corner on the side of the building, he exclaimed, “Oh my goddess, Sombra, it’s really you!”

He went to hug her and Sombra hugged back just as readily. She sighed. “It’s been too long, amigo.”

He couldn’t hold back his excitement. “Oh wow, what have you been up to all this time? And what are you doing in Australia?”

“Better question; what are _you_ doing in Australia?”

He laughed. “Oh, it’s such a long, crazy story, but I’m pretty much here because some chaos goddess has been making trouble. And you?”

“I’m here on a business trip.”

“Really? What business is a hacker doing out in the middle of wastelands?” He punched her in the arm. “I’m just messing with you! It’s so good to see you again! Honestly thought I’d never see you after you left town a few years ago.” He then noticed the glowing metal on her back. “Hey, is this an upgrade? New look, new you I suppose!”

Sombra laughed at her friend’s cheerful disposition. “Yeah, how times change us...” Then, she pointed to his arm. “Hey, what the heck is that?”

Flora pointed to the green patch on his arm. “Oh, this? Just the result of an experiment gone horribly wrong.” He shrugged. “I guess that’s really the only way to put it.”

Sombra put a hand on his waist and turned him around. “I guess this was also part of the experiment?” She observed the FLRA.

“Yeah, I guess.” He turned to face her again. “It’s kind of a funny story-.” Then, he heard Roadhog call his name from inside. “Oh, I gotta go. Hopefully I’ll see you again soon, right?”

“Until then, amigo.” Then, in a flash of light, she disappeared.

Flora sighed complacently and returned inside.

* * *

“Sombra, any news on the delivery that went missing?”

“Not yet, but I did find one of the packages that was on that truck...”


	5. Cat's Cradle

The next day, Jamie awoke to find Flora kneeling with one knee on the floor. He was balancing with one hand holding his blunt knife, tip pointed to the ground, and his other hand’s fingers were on his forehead. Jamie wanted to interject but something told him that he should keep quiet and let Flora continue with what he was doing.

Eventually, the older witch came out of the position and looked up at Jamie. “Oh, good morning, Jamie. Did you sleep well?”

“Yep!” Jamie responded cheerfully but was still curious. “Say, what were you doing there, Flora?”

Flora looked down to his knife and then back to Jamie, “Oh, I was just grounding.”

Jamie tilted his head. “Grounding?”

“Grounding, as in, neutralizing my energy.”

“Energy? Like, watts and electrons?”

“Well, not exactly, though it makes for a good comparison.” Flora shifted to face him. “I’m talking in regard to magical energy, which is what is basically the result of the force of life and what breathes life into all living things. I was grounding because I had a rather uneasy sleep last night.”

“What was so bad about it?”

“I had a troubling nightmare about an old friend, but it was only a dream, nothing to stress over.” Flora shrugged. “Anyway, grounding is something we will definitely be covering but first I will need to teach you how to feel energy so you can visualize.” He had Jamie’s attention like a child watching a magician so he continued. “If you would like, we can start now.”

Jamie clapped his hands together. “Yes please!”

“Alright so first, I would like you to straighten your posture.” Flora said as he sat up straight himself. Jamie obeyed and he continued, “We are about to do a little exercise I like to call “cat’s cradle.” You’ll see why in a moment. Let me ask you; have you ever noticed that it is mostly whenever you feel pain that you truly feel a particular part of your body?”

Jamie wasn’t sure where this was going so he responded. “I guess so?”

“I would like you to recreate that awareness minus the pain into your hands.” Flora then put his hands together. “And as you focus, I want you to rub your hands until they feel slightly warm.” And he rubbed his hands to demonstrate. Jamie nodded his head and began rubbing his hands together. Flora got the impression that he was starting to feel warmth in his hands and instructed, “Now I want you to slowly pull your hands apart and notice any sensations you feel.”

Jamie did so and at first, there wasn’t much but then, at the very last moment, “Hey! Hey! I feel something between my fingers!” But then, his expression changed from excited to disgruntled. “Wait, no, no! The feeling is going away!”

“It’s alright that it didn’t last, Jamie. What’s important is that you felt  something .” Flora was cradling his energy as he spoke. “If you would like you can try again, just go a little slower this time and I think you’ll get better results.”

Jamie tried again but this time he went more vigorously and didn’t feel much of a result. “Aw shit, I think I lost it.”

“Don’t give up. Here, I have an idea.” Flora scooted toward Jamie. “Rub your hands and I’ll do the same and then we’ll put our hands together to feel the energy, okay?” Jamie nodded and began rubbing his hands. Once Flora felt it was enough, he held his hands out for Jamie to join. The younger witch did so and this time, he  definitely felt something. The sensation between them was like two opposing magnets trying to touch and it covered his whole hand. Then, suddenly, Jamie felt a sensation on his cheek and neck as well. It was ticklish and it stirred feelings he didn’t like so he pulled away. “Hey, you had it!”

“Sorry, Flor, just… I felt something on my face and neck and it was spreading and making me uncomfortable.” He looked away from Flora. For some reason he felt ashamed and he didn’t know why.

Flora’s voice fell flat as he responded. “Oh.” Awkward silence. “... Uh, if you’d like to stop for now, we can continue later-.”

“Yeah, that’d be good. Besides, I’m hungry.” Jamie got up and headed to the main room.

“Right.” After a moment Flora got up and followed him in silence.

* * *

After breakfast, Jamie decided to work on some new upgrades to his frag launcher outside. Every once in awhile when the mental stress built up too much from focusing on the task at hand, he would do the cat’s cradle exercise Flora showed him. It was only brief and he wasn’t feeling as much as he did when he did it with Flora, but he was definitely feeling  something now.

While he was making changes to his schematic plans, Flora showed up. “Oh, hey, Flor!” Jamie greeted him but he was nervous. He wasn’t sure if he should tell Flora what he had really felt when they did the cat’s cradle together.

“Just wanted to check on you. You’ve been out here for a while.” Flora tapped Jamie’s blueprints. “What are you working on?”

“Oh, this?” Jamie laughed nervously. Flora’s closeness wasn’t helping his thoughts. “This is just my old pride and joy, the frag launcher! It shoots explosives!”

Jamie expected Flora to be immediately grow bored with him and call him “childish” and comment on how dangerous that was like everyone else usually did, but instead Flora leaned in with interest. “Oh wow, nice! Y’know, I have this Irish friend back in Dorado who would love designs like these.” He then chuckled. “Not to say that I don’t like it myself.”

Jamie felt himself blush at that. He and Flora had adjusted to each other so quickly and the inference of all their interactions taunted him. “Oh-oh, yeah, th-thanks.” He couldn’t look at Flora right now, feeling his face heat up.

Suddenly, he felt Flora’s hand place a cool object on his. “I also came outside because I wanted to let you borrow these.” Jamie looked up and saw Flora was handing him the belt cord he wore that had five green quartz pendants strung on it.

Jamie was confused. “Why do you want me to have this?” For a second he thought Flora was mocking him.

But Flora just beamed honestly, “Well, since you were struggling with the cat’s cradle exercise, I thought I’d let you borrow my crystals and try to feel their energy.”

Jamie was a nervous wreck now. He trembled a bit as he started, “Flora, I have to tell you something.”

“Yes, Jamie?” Flora asked pleasantly.

Jamie really wished he’d quit being so nice, but it was better than the alternative. “Right, so, about earlier… when I drew my hands away early...” He wasn’t sure how to put this so he just huffed and tried, “I was feeling… something else too...”

“Really? Like?” Flora inquired as if he was taking down an interview.

But Jamie braced himself. “... Like… arousal.” Being as Flora wasn’t immediately taking his crystals back and yelling at him, he decided to continue. “I dunno how but it felt like I could feel your skin against mine… not that I would know what that feels like-!”

Flora stopped him there, “It’s fine, Jamie!” He actually laughed and Jamie’s brow knotted in confusion, so Flora added, “It’s fine that you felt that. Granted, it’s not something you hear everyday, but hey, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Jamie scratched his head. “You don’t think so?”

Flora just shrugged. “Yeah, nothing to worry about. I mean, magic isn’t a science so it’s open to interpretation.” Interpretation… the only interpretation Jamie was getting was something he didn’t want. But then Flora added. “And thoughts are just that: thoughts. Nothing more, nothing less.”

This put Jamie at ease a bit. He thanked Flora as he took the crystals and got back to work. And as he worked he thought about what Flora said.  _ Thoughts are just thoughts… nothing more, nothing less… _ He repeated to himself. _ … Unless I want them to be something more... _


End file.
